I feel weird taking a stand on the issue because I don't like being hypocritical... it seems messed up that Western societies are getting more depressed and using pills as the main cure instead of therapy and their own efforts....but speaking for myself, all the therapy in the world couldn't change the chemical veil of catatonic depression. Therapy never did sh&t for me.

I think two kinds of limits should be imposed- one on what kinds of pills are prescribed and one on how severe a person's disability must be before they qualify as a candidate for medication. It gets messy, like how are you going to look at one person and say, "yep, you're depressed enough" and then the next patient you're telling "nope, I think you can handle this on your own."

As for type of pill, as much fun as I've had getting high in my short lifetime, I think drugs that can provide a 'buzz' should be eliminated from the first choices for anxiety and pain. If a drug is 'fun' you should be questioning everyone's motives who comes in requesting it, and that goes for all of the other meds as well.

Probably the best point I have to make: the drug companies want money and there is money in having you addicted to intoxicating medications. Scientific researchers and neuroscientists need to make non-addicting versions of benzos and opiates and sleeping pills such that your pleasure centers aren't being stimulated to such a degree that you're running out of meds because its fun. there is nothing fun about mental illness, at all.

The 'poor me' mentality doesn't qualify as a mental handicap or constitute a low level of functioning.

And we're lazy, too. Who really has the time to invest in therapy when you're barely managing to make all of your ends meet? I count myself in this group as well.

drug company's motivation=profit

psychiatrist's motivation= Treating neurotransmitter functions with medications. providing treatment consistent with medical background/degree and no background in psychology whatsoever. they prescribe what has been developed and the ones doing the developing are the big drug companies.

and patients just want to be happy, like everyone else does. whether the pills will help is simply not appropriately determined from the actions of the above mentioned parties and I think that therapy should be required as part of the prescription process, even though i don't believe it works for me, just to ascertain where the patient is coming from. Maybe a team of psychologist/psychiatrist could work in conjunction and have that be the new structure of medical treatment?

goddamn I am sick and tired of being the last one to post on a thread. why do my posts end the thread? Its killing me to be the thread killer. I mentioned that this was bothering me before, and guess what?. One person deigned to post an answer saying
"now you're not the last one" and then that person was the last one.

If I hadn't said anything, probably 4 or 5 people would have read this article and posted responses. sorry, but this is really starting to piss me off and make me feel isolated from Sf. you don't have to acknowledge that I said anything, but don't just treat the thread like its invisible...I hate having the last word, it's too much pressure. I'm not opinionated, i'm not an asshole, I don't know anything about anything, somebody please just read the fucking article and comment on it!!!!!! :blink: :bash: